Right Place, Wrong Time – Dr. Hona Amer

Scripture:

“His brothers said, ‘Why don’t you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you’re serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world.’ His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn’t believe in him either. Jesus came back at them, ‘Don’t crowd me. This isn’t my time. It’s your time—it’s always your time; you have nothing to lose. The world has nothing against you, but it’s up in arms against me. It’s against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions. You go ahead, go up to the Feast. Don’t wait for me. I’m not ready. It’s not the right time for me’.” John 7:3-8 (MSG)

Perspective:

Time is an element of the world that you can’t escape. It seems that we are always trying to find more time, killing time until our next appointment, or missing the time that has already been spent. Time is one thing that we can’t get back. With that in mind, there is a temptation to make future decisions with no regard to God’s timing.

Jesus came for one distinct purpose: to save the world from their sin. Jesus was acutely aware of his purpose, as well as God’s timing. When his brothers wanted him to go and show off his miracles, Jesus was not willing to sacrifice God’s timing for people’s timing. His brothers couldn’t understand what he was waiting for. Jesus had been doing miracles, including feeding thousands of people. The people wanted more miracles, but Jesus knew his purpose wasn’t just about meeting people’s physical needs. But, Jesus knew that He needed to be in the right place at the right time to fulfill God’s mission for his life. Jesus’ greater purpose of saving the world required certain events to align in the right time. Many times, we want to take God’s timing into our own hands. We feel the pressure of those around us wanting us to make a move. Sometimes, we simply have a lack of clarity about God’s timing so we become discouraged, distressed, or confused. Jesus eventually went to the Feast, but it wasn’t within the time frame in which his brothers expected. How did Jesus know when to go? His heart was dialed into the presence of God. We need to walk so closely with God that we can discern His prompting for us to move forward or change direction in life. When we walk closely with God, we can be confident that He is going to lead and direct us in the way we should go. God is working behind the scenes in your circumstances to bring His purpose to fruition in your life in the right season. Wait on Him before you make a move that could be the right place, just the wrong time.